Mass Effect 2
by CannibalCommando
Summary: My take on Mass Effect 2, as John Shepard tries to save humanity from a threat few believed existed. He'll take on a suicide mission, but a mission this crazy needs a crew to match it. Rated T at the moment, but may eventually go up to M. Will feature violence, profanity and suggestive themes.


_**A/N This is the start of my take on Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Things will not be exactly the same. The changes will be relatively small in ME2, but ME3 will be quite different. Shepard will romance Jack, you've been warned. Shepard is a Paragade dude. **_

PROLOGUE

Red and blue fought each other in a fiery struggle in front of the man. The stars and his holograms provided the only light in the wide room, the floor panelled with a reflective black, that close to the star, shone with muted colours. The sides of the room were transparent, allowing a view of the millions of stars that surrounded him, the hundreds of planets in danger. His holograms stretched out in front of him, a collection of reports and updates, from his sources and cells throughout the vast galaxy. He let a wisp of smoke escape his lips and tapped his cigarette on his armchair's built in ashtray. He wore an exquisite suit, the kind only the most rich and influential could afford. The blue gleans in his eyes shined even in the deepest shadow.

The woman stood ahead of him, her curvy silhouette blotting out a small corner of the massive star. She had her back to him as she began to speak. "Shepard did everything right. More than we could have hoped for. Saving the Citadel, and the Council with it. Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy.

"And still it's not enough." She looked over her shoulder as she finished, but turned back to the star as he replied.

"Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains our best hope," he told her, bringing the cigarette to his mouth as his assistant approached with a datapad.

"But they're sending him to fight geth," she complained, turning and walking through his reports. "Geth! We both know they're not the real threat. The reapers are still out there," she said, placing a hand on her hip as she walked to him.

He took the cigarette away and looked at her. "And it's up to us to stop them." He blew out the smoke, accepting the datapad and placing it on his lap.

She crossed her arms over her chest, moving from foot to foot. Miranda could never veil her frustration. "The Council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help. Even after everything humanity has accomplished.

"But Shepard?" She gazed out to the stars, almost as if she could see him millions of light years away. "They'll follow him. He's a hero. A bloody icon." She looked at him pointedly. "But he's just one man. If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."

The Illusive Man tapped the ashes into the tray again. "Then see to it that we _don't _lose him."

* * *

The ship exited FTL-travel, seemingly appearing beside a planet framed by a sun. The _Normandy SR-1 _glided on its path, smooth and elegant. Inside the CIC, a bald, aging navigator could hear his pilot. "Disengaging FTL drives. Emission sinks active. Board is green . . . we are running silent."

Pressly marched up the corridor to the cockpit, flicking through the reports on his datapad. "We're wasting our time," he complained. "Four days up and down this sector, and we haven't found any signs of any geth activity."

A beep brought his attention to an ensign's screen as the pilot, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, replied, "Three ships went missing here in the past month. Something happened to them."

He glanced back over to Joker and shook his head. "My money's on slavers. The Terminus System is crawling with them."

"Picking up something on the long-range scanner," the ensign announced, pulling down another screen. "Unidentified vessel, looks like a cruiser."

Joker checked the screens himself. "Doesn't match any known signatures," he noted.

"Cruiser is changing course, now on intercept trajectory," she told them.

Pressly frowned, glancing at her screen again. "It can't be," he said, confusion setting in. "Stealth systems are engaged. There's no way a geth ship could -"

"It's not the geth!" Joker interrupted. "Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

His hands swept over the controls with a practice and precision that would make any pilot jealous, as he tried to avoid the other ship. A blast caught the left thruster, sending a series of explosions rocking through the CIC, disrupting everyone's efforts to man their stations and injuring the crew. Fires began to appear faster than a blast of wind and people scrambled to avoid them.

Pressly didn't even feel the heat of the explosion that ended his life.

* * *

The follow up attacks wreaked havoc upon the ship, ripping the hull apart and causing catastrophic damage. Liara sprinted past the destruction on the level below the CIC, dodging past many panicked crew mates, and having to leap over at least one still body on the floor. The evacuation alarm rang out like a widow's wail, thundering in her head.

A line of piping burst through the wall, and she curved round it, cursing. Commander Shepard stood down the corridor, pulling on his helmet. stood down the corridor, pulling on his helmet. She clutched her own in one hand. "Distress beacon is ready for launch," he said, moving away from the panel he'd been fumbling at. _He always goes straight to business in an emergency. Makes you forget how lax he can be. _

"Will the Alliance make it in time?" she asked, jumping aside from a fire that burst from the wall to her right. He caught her. _For the last time? _

"The Alliance won't abandon us, but I'm not wait around for them to find our frozen corpses. Get everyone onto the escape shuttles," he ordered, grabbing a fire extinguisher to fight the climbing blaze. She took it from him, allowing him to try and activate the sprinkler system.

"Joker's still in the cockpit, he won't evacuate. I'm not leaving either," she said, trying to tell him that it was definite, but fear was clawing its way into her.

"I'll get Joker, but I _need _you to help everyone get to the evac shuttles," he said, taking her arm and pulling her away from the fire.

"Shepard -" _I need to say something. I can't leave him. _

"Liara. Go. Now." His tone brokered no argument.

"Aye, aye," was all she managed. Spinning on her heel and shooting off for the evac shuttles, she motioned to any crew she spotted, calling for them to follow her. They smacked the hatch open and ushered them in. "Go! Go! Go!"

A trailing crew got caught by an explosion, blood splattering her face as she fell limp a few feet from Liara. _The Normandy's doomed. _

She clambered into the last available seat and hit the holo beside the hatch, closing up the pod and jettisoning them into space, away from the wreck that remained of their ship.

* * *

The sprinkler system had activated, the water dowsing his armour, but unfortunately, it had no effect on the flames that now raged in every direction. Another explosion caused him to stumble into the wall. _I need to get Joker. The Normandy's done. _

Shepard's boots rang hollow on the floor as he pounded his way toward the steps that led to the CIC, but he couldn't hear it over the crackling of the fires, the alarm ringing throughout the ship and Joker's distress calls. "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is the SSV Normandy!"

He kept an arm in front of his helmet to shield his visor from the smoke as he passed the wrecked mess hall; a mess of wires, flame and broken metal. "We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy."

He reached the steps, moving up them two at a time. "Come on baby, hold together. Hold together!"

The door at the top slid open, sucking all the air from behind him. His mag-boots activated to his relief, as he looked in grief at the giant hole that had been tore in his ship's hull. _How could any ship could through our barriers and armour that easily? _

The massive planet loomed outside, behind litter of debris and cold bodies. Stations and chairs had been ripped from the floor wholesale, and the floor panels had been torn and pried off.

His breathing was the only sound he could make out as he slowly made his way through the CIC. Ahead, a barrier separated the cockpit and the CIC, blurring his view of the pilot and the array of orange screens before him.

Shepard pushed through the barrier, jogging to Joker's side. "Come on Joker, we have to get out of here!" he urged.

"No, I won't abandon the Normandy, I can still save her!" the pilot argued, his words dripping with desperation.

"The Normandy's lost, going down with ship isn't going to change that!" he replied, gesturing to the wasteland that used to be the CIC.

Joker nodded with reluctance. "Yeah . . . okay, help me up." His eyes darted to the screens and his face dropped. "They're coming around for another attack!" Another beam cut through the corridor just behind the cockpit, shearing the ship with ease.

Explosions and sparks began to build up in the cockpit, and a fire broke out in the beam's wake. _We have less than a minute. _

Shepard grabbed Joker's arm, earning him a protest from the Vrolik's Syndrome sufferer, and wrenched him from the seat. Shepard flung the arm over his shoulder and moved for the shuttles as fast as he could carry the other man.

He helped Joker down into the nearest seat, but another series of explosions flung him into the air. _I can't reach the ground again before the ship will blow. I need to save Joker. _"Commander!" the pilot shouted.

He grabbed onto the console as he floated past to steady himself, and slammed his fist onto the holo. "Shepard!" was the last word he caught from Joker before the evac shuttle closed itself. It shot off as another beam ripped into the ship, the resulting explosion sending him barreling into the vast emptiness above the planet. He drifted towards it, as his ship was completely decimated. Pain shot through him as if a thousand blades were piercing his skin. _Broken bones. _

Pssshh. _What the hell was - NO!_

The air in his suit rushed out the tear, leaving him gasping for any breath he could manage, his hands fumbling uselessly at his throat. His HUD began to flicker and fail, as his vision darkened and the cold crept through his body.

_My ship. My crew. _


End file.
